DAVOS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came out swinging Tuesday against Russian President Vladimir Putin at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos and even had a harsh tone for his allies as war fatigue grows, pressing political and corporate leaders to enforce sanctions, help rebuild his country and advance the peace process.
Zelensky is trying to keep his country’s long and largely stalemated defense against Russia on the minds of political leaders, as Israel’s war with Hamas, which passed the 100-day mark this week, has siphoned off much of the world’s attention and sparked concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East.
“Anyone thinks this is only about us, this is only about Ukraine, they are fundamentally mistaken,” he said in a speech in English at the Swiss ski resort. “Possible directions and even timeline of a new Russian aggression beyond Ukraine become more and more obvious.”
“Putin embodies war” and will not change, he said. While lashing out at Putin for mass deportations, leveling cities and “the terrifying feeling that the war may never end,” he also offered pointed criticism for a world that told him not to escalate tensions ahead of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
“After Feb. 24th, nothing harmed our coalition more than this concept. Every ‘Don’t escalate’ to us, sounded like ‘You will prevail’ to Putin,” Zelensky said.
He thanked allies for each package of sanctions on Moscow but urged them to ensure they work. Russia, for instance, has found workarounds for imports of banned Western products that still appear on shelves.
It is Zelensky’s first trip to Davos since the war began after speaking by video in previous years, and he rushed between meetings with corporate executives and world leaders. Surrounded by a large security contingent, he’s drawn the attention of media and others seeking to meet him.
Conversations with the prime ministers of Qatar and Jordan will bookend the day’s most visible events, with speeches by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in between.
Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani of Qatar said the concentration on the attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi militia — which have spurred retaliatory strikes by the US and Britain — was “focusing on the symptoms and not treating the real issue” of Israel’s war with Hamas.
“We should focus on the main conflict in Gaza. And as soon as it’s defused, I believe everything else will be defused,” he said, adding that a two-state solution was required to end the conflict.
Sheikh Mohammed also warned that a military confrontation “will not contain” the Houthi attacks.
“I think that what we have right now in the region is a recipe of escalation everywhere,” he added.
Li, the Chinese premier, focused on pitching the country as a place to invest, noting that “we are opening wide our embrace.” He said China’s economy is estimated to have grown about 5.2 percent last year, exceeding the target it had set of 5 percent.
China’s economy, for decades a leading engine of global expansion, has struggled since COVID-19 restrictions, with high youth unemployment and the implosion of its overbuilt property market.
Li gave veiled criticism of US restrictions on China’s ability to buy advanced computer chips used in everything from cellphones to washing machines.
“Technology’s achievements should be used to benefit all humankind and it should not be used as a method to limit, to suppress another country,” Li said.
Von der Leyen reiterated that the EU doesn’t want to break from Beijing — one of its most important trade partners — but ease the risks of relying too heavily on it because “we have issues when it comes to access to the market, when it comes to a level playing field, when it comes to economic security.”
She noted China’s export controls on metals used in computer chips, solar cells and more.
For the US, Sullivan said no when The Associated Press asked whether he would meet with China’s delegation as he headed into talks with Zelensky and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Zelensky, once reticent about leaving his country, has recently gone on a whirlwind tour to rally support for Ukraine amid donor fatigue in the West and concerns that former US President Donald Trump — who touted having good relations with Putin — might return to the White House next year following his commanding win Monday in the Iowa caucuses.
Zelensky hopes to parlay the high visibility of the event into a bully pulpit to showcase Ukraine’s pressing needs, and allies will be lining up: Corporate chiefs including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and officials like von der Leyen learned in multiple gatherings what support and investment was needed to help rebuild Ukraine.
“It’s time for us, for Ukrainian companies, for international companies to rebuild (the) Ukrainian economy,” Maxim Timchenko, CEO of Ukrainian energy company DTEK said after the session. “To rely on ourselves. To build a future for Ukraine.”
In her speech, Von der Leyen painted an optimistic view of the war in Ukraine despite the battlefield stalemate. She said Russia has “lost half of its military capabilities,” while Ukraine regained half the ground it had originally lost early in the invasion.
A day earlier, Zelensky stopped in Switzerland’s capital, Bern, where President Viola Amherd pledged her country would work with Ukraine to help organize a “peace summit” for Ukraine.
In his speech at Davos, he invited every leader who respects and international law to join, saying “peace must be the answer.”
The theme of the gathering is “rebuilding trust,” and it comes as that sentiment has been fraying globally: Wars in the Middle East and Europe have increasingly split the world into different camps.
At Davos, Zelensky lashes out at Putin and urges support for Ukraine’s fight
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At Davos, Zelensky lashes out at Putin and urges support for Ukraine’s fight
- Zelensky is trying to keep his country’s long and largely stalemated defense against Russia on the minds of political leaders
- He thanked allies for each package of sanctions on Moscow but urged them to ensure they work
French far-right firebrand Le Pen buried in private ceremony
- The funeral was attended by his daughter Marine Le Pen, who took over her father’s political mantle, and other family members, political allies and close friends
LA TRINITÉ-SUR-MER, France: Jean-Marie Le Pen, co-founder of France’s main postwar far-right movement, was buried Saturday in a private ceremony in his native Brittany amid tight security.
His funeral followed a mass in his hometown of La Trinite-sur-Mer in the western region.
The funeral was attended by his daughter Marine Le Pen, who took over her father’s political mantle, and other family members, political allies and close friends.
Authorities beefed up security ahead of the ceremony, with barriers erected around the cemetery and dozens of police mobilized.
Security was tightened and protests banned after hundreds took to the streets in Paris and other cities to pop champagne corks and celebrate 96-year-old Le Pen’s death on Tuesday.
Marine Le Pen and one of her two sisters, Marie-Caroline, walked the few hundred meters between the family home and the small church of Saint-Joseph under blue skies in front of a small crowd of onlookers and several dozen journalists.
Among others attending the ceremony was Jordan Bardella, the leader of the party Le Pen co-founded, now called the National Rally, according to several sources.
Around 200 people were expected at the church service, after which Le Pen was buried in the vault where his parents rest.
“It’s moving for me to pay my last respects to him here and to pray for the salvation of his soul,” said one of the guests, Bruno Gollnisch, Jean-Marie Le Pen’s one-time right-hand man.
“He was a joyful comrade!“
Some locals praised Le Pen’s devotion to France.
“I came to pay tribute to a man who served France and loved France,” one mourner said.
“We’ve come to pay tribute to a great man who had the courage to say things,” said another. “He was a visionary. He loved France and its people and they had values that are being lost, like love of the nation.”
On Friday, regional authorities issued an order banning demonstrations to avoid “the risk of disruption and counter-demonstrations likely to provoke clashes.”
Separately, a ceremony will take place on January 16 at the Notre Dame du Val-de-Grace church in Paris that will be open to the public.
Opponents on the left said they could not mourn the death of a “fascist.”
But the government condemned rallies celebrating Le Pen’s passing. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou described him as a “fighter” and “figure of French political life,” comments that caused consternation on the left.
Le Pen’s staunchly anti-immigration National Front (FN), founded in 1972, won its first seats in the National Assembly in 1984.
Then, in 2002, Le Pen burst onto the frontline of French politics by edging Socialist Lionel Jospin in presidential elections to make the run-off against right-winger Jacques Chirac.
Nicknamed “the devil of the Republic” by opponents, he was often openly racist, made no secret of anti-Semitic views — for which he received criminal convictions — and boasted of torturing prisoners during France’s war against Algeria.
His politician daughter Marine Le Pen rapidly took steps toward making the far right an electable force, renaming it the National Rally (RN) and embarking on a policy known as “dediabolization” (de-demonization).
She threw her father out of the party for his anti-Semitism but the pair had reconciled in recent years.
President Emmanuel Macron did not make any personal comment on Le Pen’s death. His office issued a terse written statement saying history would judge Le Pen and adding that the president sent his condolences to the family.
But Le Pen’s death marked a sign of his political rehabilitation among senior RN figures who rushed to hail his contribution.
“He always served France and defended its identity and sovereignty,” RN party chief Bardella, 29, said in a tribute mentioning none of the controversies that surrounded his life.
Australia state premier calls synagogue attack an escalation in anti-Semitic crime
- Australia has seen a series of anti-Semitic incidents in the last year, including graffiti on buildings and cars in Sydney
SYDNEY: The premier of Australia’s New South Wales state Chris Minns said on Sunday that an attack on a Sydney synagogue on Saturday marked an escalation in anti-Semitic crime in the state, after police said the attack was attempted arson.
Australia has seen a series of anti-Semitic incidents in the last year, including graffiti on buildings and cars in Sydney, as well as an arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne that police ruled as terrorism.
In the latest incident, police were notified of anti-Semitic graffiti on a synagogue in the inner suburb of Newtown early on Saturday. An arson attempt was also made on the synagogue, police later said.
“This is an escalation in anti-Semitic crime in New South Wales. Police and the government remain very concerned that an accelerant may have been used,” Minns, the leader of Australia’s most populous state, said on Sunday in a televised media conference alongside state police commissioner Karen Webb.
“In the last 24 hours, these matters have now been taken over by counter-terrorism command,” Webb said.
A house in Sydney’s east, a hub of the city’s Jewish community, was also daubed with anti-Semitic graffiti, police said on Saturday, adding they were also probing offensive comments on a street poster in the suburb of Marrickville.
On Friday, a special police task force was set up to investigate an attack on the Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah in the early hours of Friday morning.
David Ossip, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, said on Sunday he welcomed extra resources promised by the government to probe the recent incidents.
“The New South Wales government has also provided us with additional funding to enhance Jewish communal security,” Ossip added in a statement.
On Friday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, referring to the Southern Sydney Synagogue incident, said that there was “no place in Australia, our tolerant multicultural community, for this sort of criminal activity.”
The number of anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents have increased in Australia since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 and Israel launched its war on Gaza. Some Jewish organizations have said the government has not taken sufficient action in response.
Biden honors Pope Francis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Biden is preparing to leave office Jan. 20 and has doled out honors to prominent individuals, including supporters and allies, in recent weeks
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden on Saturday honored Pope Francis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction, the highest civilian award given by the president, saying the pontiff was “a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world.”
Biden had been scheduled to present the medal to the pope in person on Saturday in Rome on what was to be the final overseas trip of his presidency, but Biden canceled his travel plans so he could monitor the wildfires in California.
The White House said Biden bestowed the award to the pope during a phone call in which they also discussed efforts to promote peace and alleviate suffering around the world.
It’s the only time Biden has presented the honor with distinction during his presidency. Biden himself is a recipient of the award with distinction, recognized when he was vice president by then-President Barack Obama in a surprise ceremony eight years ago. That was the only time in Obama’s two terms when he awarded that version of the medal.
The citation for the pope says “his mission of serving the poor has never ceased. A loving pastor, he joyfully answers children’s questions about God. A challenging teacher, he commands us to fight for peace and protect the planet. A welcoming leader, he reaches out to different faiths.”
Biden is preparing to leave office Jan. 20 and has doled out honors to prominent individuals, including supporters and allies, in recent weeks.
Somalia and Ethiopia agree to restore diplomatic ties
- Somalia's President Hassan and Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed announced the agreement after a visit by Hassan to Addis Ababa
- The two leaders also discussed deepening trade, and security cooperation against “extremist militant groups”
ADDIS ABABA/MOGADISHU: Somalia and Ethiopia announced Saturday they would restore full diplomatic relations following a visit by Somalia’s president to Addis Ababa to heal a year-long rift that threatened further instability in the Horn of Africa.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed “agreed to restore and enhance their bilateral relations through full diplomatic relations in their respective capitals,” they said in a joint statement.
Land-locked Ethiopia’s desire for access to the sea had deepened long-standing grievances between the two neighbors.
Somalia was outraged when Ethiopia signed a deal one year ago with its breakaway region of Somaliland, reportedly to recognize its independence in exchange for a port and military base on the Red Sea.
Ethiopia’s ambassador in Mogadishu was expelled last April and the countries broke off their diplomatic ties.
The row was defused by a peace deal last month, mediated by Turkiye and signed by both leaders.
During Mohamud’s visit to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Saturday they reiterated their commitment to the deal and its “spirit of friendship and solidarity,” in a joint statement.
They also discussed deepening trade, and security cooperation against “extremist militant groups.”
Many questions remain unresolved, however.
Although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last month’s deal would eventually give Ethiopia some form of sea access, it is not clear what form this would take.
The fate of Ethiopia’s deal with Somaliland is also uncertain.
Just hours before Saturday’s presidential visit, the continued tensions in the region were on display in Cairo when Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi met his Egyptian and Eritrean counterparts.
The three countries have lately found common ground in opposing Ethiopia’s ambitions and made a veiled reference to their rival.
“The Red Sea and its security is subject only to the will of the countries on its coast, and it is absolutely unacceptable for any country not bordering the Red Sea to have a presence, whether military, naval or otherwise,” said Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
Egypt, Eritrea and Somalia forged a new regional alliance in October at a summit in the Eritrean capital Asmara, and the foreign ministers said Saturday that more would follow.
Shared concerns about Ethiopia have also pushed Egypt and Somalia into closer military ties.
Egyptian troops joined the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), the updated international coalition to fight Somali Islamist insurgents that launched this month.
US wildfires pose fresh threat despite winds easing
- The National Weather Service said that conditions in the Los Angeles area would improve through the weekend, with sustained winds slowing to about 20 mph, gusting between 35 mph and 50 mph
LOS ANGELES: The largest of the raging wildfires that have devastated parts of Los Angeles this week was reported to have shifted direction on Saturday, triggering more evacuation orders and posing a new challenge to exhausted firefighters.
Six simultaneous blazes that have ripped across Los Angeles County neighborhoods since Tuesday have killed at least 11 people and damaged or destroyed 10,000 structures. The toll is expected to mount when firefighters are able to conduct house-to-house searches.
The fierce Santa Ana winds that fanned the infernos eased on Friday night. But the Palisades Fire on the city’s western edge was heading in a new direction, prompting another evacuation order as it edged toward the Brentwood neighborhood and the San Fernando Valley foothills, the Los Angeles Times reported.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Death toll rises to 11 with more fatalities expected.
• 10,000 structures burned as neighborhoods turn to ash.
• Thousands homeless, public health emergency declared.
• Insurers face billions in claims, Biden vows support.
“The Palisades fire has got a new significant flare-up on the eastern portion and continues to northeast,” LA Fire Department Captain Erik Scott told local station KTLA, according to a report on the LA Times website.
The fire, the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles, has razed whole neighborhoods to the ground, leaving just the smoldering ruins of what had been people’s homes and possessions.
Some 153,000 people remained under evacuation orders and another 166,800 faced evacuation warnings with a curfew in place for all evacuation zones, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Seven neighboring states, the federal government and Canada have rushed aid to California, bolstering aerial teams dropping water and fire retardant on the flaming hills and crews on the ground attacking fire lines with hand tools and hoses.
The National Weather Service said that conditions in the Los Angeles area would improve through the weekend, with sustained winds slowing to about 20 mph, gusting between 35 mph and 50 mph.
Officials have declared a public health emergency due to the thick, toxic smoke.
Pacific Palisades residents who ventured back to their devastated neighborhoods on Friday were shocked to find brick chimneys looming over charred waste and burnt-out vehicles as acrid smoke lingered in the air.
“This was a house that was loved,” Kelly Foster, 44, said while combing through the rubble where her house once stood.
Foster’s 16-year-old daughter, Ada, said she tried to get inside but “I just became sick. I just couldn’t even ... Yeah, it’s hard.”
In Rick McGeagh’s Palisades neighborhood, only six of 60 homes survived, and all that remained standing at his ranch house was a statue of the Virgin Mary.
“Everything else is ash and rubble,” said McGeagh, 61, a commercial real estate broker who, along with his wife, raised three children at their home.
On Friday morning, hundreds of people streamed into a parking lot near the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena for donated clothing, diapers and bottled water.
Denise Doss, 63, said she was anxious to return to her destroyed home in Altadena to see if anything was salvageable, but officials stopped her due to safety concerns.
“At least to say goodbye until we can rebuild. I will let God lead me,” Doss said.
Many Altadena residents said they were worried government resources would go to wealthier areas and that insurers might short-change those who cannot afford to contest denials of fire claims.
Beyond those who lost their homes, tens of thousands remained without power, and millions of people were exposed to poorer air quality, as the fires lofted traces of metals, plastics and other synthetic materials.
Private forecaster AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion, portending an arduous recovery and soaring homeowners’ insurance costs.
President Joe Biden has declared the fires a major disaster and said the US government would reimburse 100 percent of the recovery for the next six months.
